Does anyone else do this?

[karlg]

Seriously, ive been obsessing over my hair for more then a year now, and in that time ive lost prolly about 50% or more of the volume from it. I have receaded about 1/2 - 1cm in that time and that bit in between my temples has gotten thinner in width (i started life as a nw2 i think). the last 5-6 months of last year were pretty bad with shedding, and the whole propecia thing at the start of this year really set me back a bit.

But yeah, even though ive been visiting this forum (and others) since i started noticing some thinning. in the past 3-4 months ive become so obsesed.

I read this forum EVERY day, i trawl through posts going back as far as i can find. Ive got like, loads of topicals and refuse to go out in the evening as my hair obv looks rubbish with half a ton of RU, minoxidil, etc... in it. I wake up EXTRA early just so i can apply minoxidil to my hairline in the morning, and have that bit of extra time to let it dry and style it best i can for work.

On weekends i avoid going outsite atm as its far too hot to wear a beanie, and to bright to be walking around with my naff flippin hair. Completely stopped thinking about trying to get a gf as i failed when i had hair, and 3 years of being single, ive pretty much given up hope now untill i get this sorted, and then the rest.

I am changing my whole lifestyle (for the better in terms of health) but have become very recluse, i probobly only go out for a few hours on thursdays round a friends house, and even then i wait untill it starts getting dark so i dont blind people with my scalp. I used to go out drinking and being social etc.... not anymore, i quite literally cant walk into a club, or a pub that has young happy *hairy* people in it, and avoid chicks at ALL costs. I just go down the local i have, and even then its only really on saturdays, as there is none of that there (and iv'e started scoping out all the norwoods there too, as its a bit of an old persons pub).

Every single time i come into contact or interact with ANYONE, i check out their hair, crown, density etc etc... the second they are not looking. I count hairs that fall on my desk at home and and work, checking them for length, tapered or not, width, density, pigmentation, whether the last 1" or so is white/unpigmented. Whether it's vellus, intermediate, or terminal. ill even put them to one side on my desk so at the end of the day i can tally how many hairs, and of what sort have fallen from my head.

.......have i got a problem here? or are there actually other people who are as bad as me?

 

[dougfunny]

yes you definitely have a problem.. there are plenty of guys out there way more bald than you are having a great time.

it sounds like it might be a good idea to bring this up with a therapist and get it worked out.

 

[karlg]

True, i have a m8 of mine whos about twice my age, is a nw5/6 and what he has left is very sparse. He seems to love his life (albeit pissed) however, in terms of what works cosmetically, his head shape works well with the shaved looked.

I on the other hand firstly hate myself for balding at 20/21/22, and yes, i feel it makes me deficient as a person however, should i loose all my hair i have the retarded egg shape which i kid you not, looks dreadfull on me. My dad had by hair about 1/2cm long throughout the first 3 years of secondary school and i look like a flippin creepy lookin b'stard.

Not to mention i can be quite competitive when i come across something that i feel is really importand and close to me, so (and this isnt the first time its happend in life) i obsess and become hugely pre-occupied with whatever situation / thing is in question...and so far it's that which hass made me win every single time. Same with this, Loosing is simply NOT an option, and i'm one of those `risk everything if needs be and die trying` types.

I probobly do need to see a therapist however, firstly they wont grow my hair back, lifestyle changes and drugs will. Secondly ive also tried them before with no decent results.

 

[Oknow]

Man i am empathetic. You took propecia,what happened?

 

[karlg]

I had a mega shed about 6 weeks in (which i kind of expected), however last time i was on finasteride, although i did get a bit of shedding it was nothing close to this time around. However as is always said i stuck with it untill about 3 1/2 months and dropped it.

The shedding only slowed down dramatically about 2 weeks after stopping however this was about the same time i started RU. The shedding was not the main reason i quit finasteride though.

I developed a stutter, general weakness in arms and legs, serious brain fog (i NEED to concentrate for my job so this really sucked), it kicked off my somewhat minimal/mild depression i think, a bit of gyno (although i drink alot so am workin on loosin some weight), however i had sore breasts and nipples for a while, and my right one kept swelling up and getting infected constantly for about 3 weeks. it started slaughtering my hairline and the shed removed about 30-45% of my hair all over my head, which was never a problem before, so now im diffuse rather then just loosing at hairline and crown.

I could go on, but alot of the sides like brain fog, stutter, weakness near enough disapeared within 3-4 weeks of quitting, sex drive kind of shot up but dont really get any morning wood as such as of yet. i do stutter ever so slightly however, its not like it was, and its very rare so people dont notice it, and it's not enough for it to bother me.

Hmmmmmm strange, reacted ok to finasteride first time, and second go round, it f*cked me right up?

I may try finasteride later on down the line, as ive got about 3 weeks worth of propecia left, i might start off on something like 0.25mg or something, but im going to give all my topicals, RU, suppliments, and make a few lifestyle changes and see where i am in 6 months before going back to it.

 

[Oknow]

I had a mega shed about 6 weeks in (which i kind of expected), however last time i was on finasteride, although i did get a bit of shedding it was nothing close to this time around. However as is always said i stuck with it untill about 3 1/2 months and dropped it.

The shedding only slowed down dramatically about 2 weeks after stopping however this was about the same time i started RU. The shedding was not the main reason i quit finasteride though.

I developed a stutter, general weakness in arms and legs, serious brain fog (i NEED to concentrate for my job so this really sucked), it kicked off my somewhat minimal/mild depression i think, a bit of gyno (although i drink alot so am workin on loosin some weight), however i had sore breasts and nipples for a while, and my right one kept swelling up and getting infected constantly for about 3 weeks. it started slaughtering my hairline and the shed removed about 30-45% of my hair all over my head, which was never a problem before, so now im diffuse rather then just loosing at hairline and crown.

I could go on, but alot of the sides like brain fog, stutter, weakness near enough disapeared within 3-4 weeks of quitting, sex drive kind of shot up but dont really get any morning wood as such as of yet. i do stutter ever so slightly however, its not like it was, and its very rare so people dont notice it, and it's not enough for it to bother me.

Hmmmmmm strange, reacted ok to finasteride first time, and second go round, it f*cked me right up?

I may try finasteride later on down the line, as ive got about 3 weeks worth of propecia left, i might start off on something like 0.25mg or something, but im going to give all my topicals, RU, suppliments, and make a few lifestyle changes and see where i am in 6 months before going back to it.

Funny how people promote this drug, sounds like you went through hell. Many say it happens to only 2% of those using it, but every person that has had a bad reaction to it describes it as you have described above. I was thinking of taking it, but I don't want it to accelerate my loss.

 

[karlg]

I dont believe the figures they put out regarding side effects, i think they have been toned down alot, although it would be interesting to see what criteria they used to class something as a `side effect`, maybe they only truely reported the figures of people who got sides which did not subside for a substantial amount of time / ever?

I mean, the drug must work, loads of people are taking it with great success, i mean, if you react to it well and it works for you go for it, however i'd agree dont try finasteride staight off if your young, im gonna see how far i can go with my current regieme, i mean considering alot of the hair i shed on finasteride this time has been lost in 6 months or so, i feel i have a pretty good chance at getting most, if not all of it back.

Id only go back to it if things continued down hill from here regardless of what i try, and even then i'd start on a much lower dose just to play it safe.

 

[cuebald]

My problem at the moment is a massive inferiority complex. I look at my friends and almost every single one is more handsome than me.
I see one friend who is better than me in every way - NW1, more handsome, funnier, etc etc, and I think why would a woman choose me over him? He's a 9 and I'm a 3. Sucks. Time to buy a piece.

 

[karlg]

I couldnt agree more, i dont even go out around town anymore, i only hang out with like, 2 people, one of which is a chick, albeit not really attractive (in my eyes anyway), and a short fat bald bloke twice my age. Dont get me wrong they r amazing friends, however, i dont think i could hang out with anyone i perceived as attractive, due to the whole inferiority complex thing.

I kid you not, my whole life is on hold while i fight this, and ive probobly lost nearly a year of my life now with this situation, and the whole time not once have i seen it get better. i mean, tbf right now, im feelin pretty good about makin progress, started using loads diff minoxidil and topicals, RU etc.... am working on life style changes, diet, quit all drugs (illegal) overnight, cold turkey kind of thing, am trying to quit smoking, stop drinking etc... my hair is starting to feel a bit better although, it *could* be my minds eye, however to fully admit that's what it is would just destroy my motivation...and whats the point?

However, i know how ya feel, im constantly comparing myself to every single bloke i see, and i always, ALWAYS come out worse off, even if youve got some fat ugly guy (no offence to anyone), im like...well at least he's got hair, and thats it im more un-attractive then them.

i've got the attitude of i will win this, failure is NOT an option, i will die trying and...if i do loose the battle...'click;*bang* problem sorted kinda thing......although i seriously doubt they'd give me a gun licence over here in the uk

 

[Boondock]

The biggest problem when it comes to finasteride side effects is the sheer lack of empathy on all sides of the argument.

People see what happens to them, and use their experience as a model to evaluate everybody else's experience.

To the finasteride promoter, it's: "Oh, I had that one day when I thought I had sides, and it was just anxiety messing me up. Man, I can't believe all these side effect guys take these things so seriously."

To the finasteride hater, it's: "God I felt so terrible on that stuff, how can anyone take that? If it screwed me up so bad there must be tons of people affected badly, and tons of people in denial."

Some people swear by the stuff and call the side effect people loons. Folks like fanjeera, on the other hand, literally believe it's poison and advise nobody to even try it.

You need to look outside your own heads, people. Some people on finasteride do experience real, and negative side effects, even though the majority experience none at all. The only worthy piece of "advice" anyone can offer is to try it out and see what happens. Just because you don't get sides and because some people get them through anxiety, doesn't mean nobody genuinely suffers from this.

 

[Nuli]

Haha man, this is exactly like me. Only i have gave up fighting it because i can't use finasteride. I wear a hat everywhere and buzz my hair to a 4 guard. I just try to improve myself in other aspects of life that I DO have some sort of control over. I am 20, and yah i defiantly feel like im wasting my life away worrying about hair loss.

 

[s.a.f]

.......have i got a problem here? or are there actually other people who are as bad as me?

Yep thats me exactly.

 

[karlg]

I looked on Merck's website and they are now claiming that "side effects" like you have described on here, can occur in as little as 2% and as much as 18% of guys who use finasteride.

...........................

(BTW, from my POV, getting sides on almost 100% of the posters on this board from finasteride is what seems to be the general consensus here)

Even then, 18% is still a huge amount of people when you consider how many people take/have taken the drug, even 15% or 12% is a bit high. Didn't it used to be 1% or less or something like that? That may have just been the gyno sides tho.

Although, really, if you took propecia/finasteride and maintained, you wouldnt be shouting and screamin about it would you? you'd just be like, yh its stopped furter loss and that'd be the end of it. However if it really did you over, you'd be on here bein like `omg finasteride broke my knob` or whatever, hence why you see so many of these posts, as a majority of these posts are by people who experienced/thought they experienced sides.

Im not saying every case is genuine, however i also dont believe its just 2%, it must be a higher rate then that.

Things like the stutter for example, whether that was my own quirky lil side effect, ive never read that on any sides list for finasteride, and it did hit me as a suprise, it just started happening and then became more freqent. I was never concerned about the sides from finasteride as at the time i had read mostly drop in sex drive and gyno. But i was never like omg i have sides.

As far as i was concerned for the first 2 months or so, yeah ive had a massive shed, a bit more then i'd like but i expected that, im lowering my dht levels, ive got that base covered, it's all good. and then the weakness, brain fog, and the rest kicked in. Brain fog was the only other side i'd heard about at this point and it wasnt untill i had experienced these sides for a few weeks i really started looking into finasteride sides, so if it was me being a hypercondriac (which i will admit, i am a little bit) how could i experience these sides `in my head` before even knowing they existed?

Dudemon im not dis-agreeing with you, as you do have a good point, however after i stopped finasteride *most* of the sides went away 2-3 weeks afterwards...?

So many of you will swear up and down you have had sides from finasteride. But perhaps you should just be honest with yourselves, and ask yourself: "Am I really having sides? Or is it all just in my head?"... :dunno:

So how can 18% = 100% ?

How cant 18% = 100%, well true, it's not, there are plently of people having great sucess with finasteride, and alot just maintaining.

Just because you don't get sides and because some people get them through anxiety, doesn't mean nobody genuinely suffers from this.

Agreed, and even if they dont get genuine sides, im sure messing with your hormones can only agrevate the anxiety etc?.. which in turn makes the whole situation worse, genuine sides or not.

 

[Vanzzzz]

Been on finasteride for over 1 week, short i know, but apart from the 2nd way where I experienced brain fog, I no longer have any sides.

Fervently hoping that finasteride/Nizoral alone will help me maintain my hair for YEARS to come and help me regrow some of my temple.

BTW, I am curious to know how many people have long term success on finasteride, >5 years maintenance, and how many people had success with respect to their temple loss.

 

[karlg]

My sides started about a month or so in, not all at once, but one by one.

I think alot of people have successfully maintained with finasteride and nizoral, have you thought about adding a minoxidil based product?

 

[Maelstrom]

Hi karl,

Although I would recemmend that you do whatever you can to keep your hair I would also advise against maintaining such an "all or nothing" attitude. That can go for anything as well as hairloss. Trust me, it will serve you no good as a mindset and I'm speaking from experience. It's hard I know but that's what I think anyway. Good luck.

 

[karlg]

Thank you for the support Maelstorm

True i know what you mean, the `All or nothing` attitude isnt the best, however i can atribute quite a few successes in my life from having that attitude (and just as many failures too).

This is something ive had since i was very young, and old habits die hard.

 

[karlg]

But I have taken finasteride since 1998, and, YES, it has stopped my hairloss. I have maintained pretty much what I have had since then. Because I was NW7 bound, I would have surely been there by now. Instead, I took finasteride and my hairlooss stopped at NW5 since 1998.

I receded to a NW6 from permanent shockloss after my first hair transplant, because the trauma from the surgery was too much for the already DHT weakened vellus hair around the edges of my horshoe to tolerate.

But I had that 1st hair transplant in late 2003. The finasteride stopped my hairloss at NW5, from 1998 until 2003, otherwise I would have been a NW7.

I never said finasteride didnt work, im sure it does, maybe not for everyone but theres no perfect cure atm. I'm just sayin, people who get sides are more likely to kick up a big fuss about it then say, people who maintain for example.

So is shockloss a common thing with hair transplant's? What Norwood did you hope your hair transplant would take you too? and did the transplanted hair also die??

 

[andrei_eremenko]

i'm doing the same...it is normal is a shock...it changes your appearance...